To tackle child poverty, one-parent families must be supported

Spark (Single Parents Acting for the Rights of Kids) is extremely disappointed that the programme for government contains no specific commitment to review reforms of the One-Parent Family Payment, which resulted in losses for our poorest families and forced many lone parents out of paid employment.

Child poverty can only be tackled by supporting lone-parent families. According to an EU survey on income and living conditions in 2014, the consistent poverty rate for the general public is 8%, it is slightly lower at 7.9% for two-parent families — and a massive 22.1% for children in one-parent families.

The programme for government has identified specific areas, such as housing, rural communities, school diversity, and supports for the self-employed, which are all welcome, but it has failed to even mention a comprehensive policy to address children in one-parent families.